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Here’s what school funding cuts mean

EDITOR: $104,965 cut from the 2013-14 budget compared to the 2012-13 budget.

$205,704 cut from the 2014-15 budget compared to the 2013-14 budget.

$153,269 cut from the 2015-16 budget compared to the 2014-15 budget.

That is $463,938 in Wisconsin state funding cuts to Rosholt’s kindergarten through 12th grade schools over the past three years.

During the 21st century, the world will see enormous advances in disciplines such as medical technology and robotics. Are we providing our children with access to an education that has strong emphasis on mathematics, engineering and the sciences? Or are we cutting back on these disciplines because there are not enough funds allocated to hire qualified teachers to provide the guidance and curriculum for these critical areas of education?

What is Wisconsin political leadership doing besides cutting funding for the education of our children and not developing more qualified teachers? There is the political approach of cutting the qualifications of teachers for subjects. Roughly speaking, those teachers with high school diplomas or undergraduate degrees in any major will be allowed to teach high school courses. Having a drivers ed instructor teach computer science is the equivalent of someone with an anthropology degree call themselves a dentist and perform a root canal.

Instead of developing qualified teachers, we are being told to accept funding cuts and implement reduction of teacher qualification standards.

U.S. security is being threatened by cyber-attacks on the Pentagon’s computer systems. The U.S. will need a generation of graduates educated in linguistics, computer programming, hardware research and development, drone technology and artificial intelligence, among other subjects. In the 21st century, a graduate who knows algorithms or Mandarin will be more vital to national security than the next American Sniper. Are we sacrificing the future of our children to political hyperbole?

Our children need the best educators with advanced resources to help them succeed in world competition. Educational funding cuts will result in vacant school buildings, dying rural communities and a future generation of unprepared young adults in a demanding world.